NYT on Iraq future
Posted here Sunday, October 19, 2003 at 11:18:44 AM 
This Slate summary
On the NYT Op-Ed page, this month's president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Iyad Alawi, makes two requests of the U.S.: 1) That it recall the disbanded Iraqi army and police force, up to mid-officer level. Most Iraqi soldiers and policemen are patriots, not Saddam loyalists, and they already have command structures and a political legitimacy that the U.S. will be unable to replicate from scratch. 2) That the U.S. urge international recognition of an interim Iraqi government after the Council drafts a constitution, but before a U.N.-monitored referendum on its adoption. "Making Iraqis once again a part of the international system is the prerequisite for ... a durable democratic system"; making international recognition contingent on adoption of the constitution would rob Iraqis of control of their destiny.
hints at the way in which Iraq may ultimately work, with all the consequences for justification and power.
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